Section 29. The council is authorized to enter into contracts and agreements with any department, agency or subdivision of the federal or state government and any individual, corporation, association or public authority to provide or receive services, facilities, staff assistance or money payments in connection with the work of the council, and the council may contribute or receive services, facilities, staff assistance or money payments as consideration in such contracts and agreements.

The council may expend for services and other expenses such amounts as are assessed and collected from its member cities and towns together with such amounts as the council may receive under any federal or state law or by gift, grant or contract from any source including grants, bequests, gifts, or contributions made by any individual, corporation, association, public authority, or agency or subdivision of the federal or state governments; provided, however, that any such assessment on such city or town shall not exceed any per capita amount fixed by the council, from time to time, based on the population of such city or town, exclusive of the number of inmates of institutions therein. Such assessment shall not exceed a sum equivalent to fifteen cents per capita for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and seventy-five. Any increase over a previous year’s assessment may only be made by a two-thirds vote of the representatives of cities and towns present and voting at a meeting duly called for the purpose of acting upon such an assessment. The state treasurer shall, subject to the aforesaid limitations, certify the amount to be assessed upon each city and town comprising the district, and said amount shall be paid by such city or town to the state treasurer as provided in section twenty of chapter fifty-nine. Any amounts paid by a city or town to the state treasurer, as provided in this section, shall be credited on the books of the commonwealth to a fund to be known as the Metropolitan Area Planning Council Fund. The state treasurer shall, upon receipt of any such funds and upon a warrant approved by the executive committee of the council, pay such funds over to the treasurer of said council for the operation of its activities.